Here we are two weeks later, but we know that this storm's aftermath will be with us for a long, long time to come.

Our hearts go out especially to those who have suffered in particularly challenging and debilitating ways during and after the seas churned and the winds blew.

The Scriptures of the Jewish and Christian traditions are very realistic about storms. There are stories throughout the Hebrew Scriptures about floods, storms, and rising waters. But I have always been struck by the candor and faith of the 46th Psalm. It is so realistic about the experience of raging and swelling waters, about tempest and storm alike. At the same time, it expresses such faith even in the face of troubled waters, winds, and times. The first line of the Psalm says it all, "God is our hope and strength, a very present help in trouble."

The Christian Scriptures of the New Testament also are brutally honest about storms, winds, and waves. My favorite stories are those in which the disciples are on the oft turbulent Sea of Galilee.

The winds pick up, and the waves get bigger and bigger. Those early followers begin to lose hope, becoming convinced that they are going to be swamped, drowning in the choppy waters.

But Jesus is there or arrives on the scene (depending upon which narrative you happen to read), and the effect is that of calming seas, of rescue, of relief. The words he says embody the spirit of the 46th Psalm. "Take heart, it is I, do not be afraid." He literally "en-courages" his friends and followers, which means to take heart and have one's heart restored.

So here we are on the other side of Hurricane Sandy. It was turbulent, and it was terrible. In and of itself, it challenged our hearts in many ways. Truth be told, it wasn't the only tumult that we have faced or will have to face in the future.

Rather, heaving waters and cyclonic winds are part of the life that we experience in other ways. We have just lived through a very "stormy" election season. We know the turbulence of sickness, uncertainties, betrayals, and serious loss in our living.

One writer in the areas of leadership and organizational life says that change itself is regular and ferociously churning and foaming in our time. He compares it to the whitewaters on which people raft, but his metaphor and image are more challenging and frightening than something we do well-equipped on a vacation trip.

No, it is like a flood, or hurricane waves and winds, or the storm that comes up unexpectedly when you were counting on smooth sailing in your life.

There will be storms. There will be hurricanes. There will be floods.

There will be rising waters and oppositional winds. So what are we to do? I find the words of the Psalmist and of Jesus of Nazareth to be similar and to the point.

"God is our hope and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the waters rage and swell." (Psalm 46)

"Take heart, it is I, do not be afraid." (Jesus of Nazareth). These are not cheap and easy words, saying that we just shouldn't worry about things. Nor are they pious and pat answers for things that are truly terrifying in life. Rather, they say that whatever we face, we face with God. They say that God's gifts to us in the most trying times are hope, strength, and great heart.

I will be praying about Hurricane Sandy for a long time coming. I also will pray about other cataclysms and challenges in human life, in your life, and in my life. My prayer... that even in the raging waters and the tempestuous winds, we will be able to connect with and accept the strength, hope, and heart that God offers to us. My prayer... that we will recognize the One who is our companion in the most turbulent times. My prayer... that our fear will be received by God and transformed into faith and love.